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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Napoleon's Secret Weapon Revealed - Le Chant de l'Oignon

Perhaps some of you may have already seen this entertaining little video on Burkhard's blog, but it's just too much fun not to post it on my own. :-) It features Le Chant de l'Oignon, which apparently was one of the favorite songs sung by Napoleon's Imperial Guard while they charged on the battlefield.

I certainly sang about a lot of silly things when I was in the Army, so it comes to no surprise that some of the most feared infantry of the time sang about eating onions. Although parents in France might frequently implore their children saying, "Eat your onion soup if you want to become big and strong," the thought of Napoleon's Elite singing about loving fried onions while killing Austrians, etc. is pretty hilarious.

I did some quick research via Google and the only thing I came up with in my extensive two minutes was that according to legend the song originates shortly before the Battle of Marengo. In the story (my translation), Napoleon came across some grenadiers vigorously rubbing something on crusts of bread. When he inquired what was going on, they revealed the "something" was an onion to which he replied, "Ah ! Très bien, il n'y a rien de meilleur pour marcher d'un bon pas sur le chemin de la gloire!"

The tune did get stuck in my head for a day. It is kind of catchy, and I love the part about the Austrians getting no onions. I don't know if I'd want any future French opponents singing this song across the table top while we played, but I might consider giving his Imperial Guard units a +1 to something if he did. :-)

French Army marching songs are brought to you by the Imperial Onion Company. Perhaps this is why Leclerc didn't look out of place disguised as an onion seller in just about every episode of 'Allo 'Allo ...

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This is my lighthearted blog for all things that relate in some way to my wargaming hobby. Everything from military history to science fiction and fantasy.

I've been playing with toy soldiers since I was a wee lad and they have sparked my imagination ever since. I hope you enjoy your time on "Der Feldmarschall," and don't be afraid to leave a comment or two behind. :-)